Alexander Wong path to being the most amazing designer in Asia
The ever-evolving landscape of Alexander Wong
Alexander Wong
We are meant to live, learn & give something back
The path to design excellence was rarely linear for Alexander Wong. His career involved navigating the challenges of personal and professional growth and an ever-evolving business landscape.
His unwavering dedication and adaptability have culminated in a string of prestigious awards from 2004 to 2024.
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In this year’s International Property Awards, a celebration of the highest levels of achievement and excellence in design within the property and real estate industry, he gathered three awards, including World’s Best Interior Design for Vivace of Regala Skycity Hotel at the Hong Kong International Airport. The Vivace Grill Room & Courtyard on the Pool Deck is themed Ice & Fire.
World’s Best Interior Design
The white and aquamarine-toned interior provides a soothingly calm ambience, contrasted with bursts of vibrant reds and oranges, giving the space an overwhelmingly Mediterranean-inspired atmosphere.
Vivace of Regala Skycity Hotel, Hong Kong, By Alexander Wong
Originally conceived as a venue with a Spanish touch to highlight the menu’s offerings of icy drinks and hot, grilled meat dishes, Alexander paid homage to the design of the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudà and his iconic Catholic church, the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona.
Lord Thurso, Alexander Wong, Sok Tng of Lixil and Stuart Shield of IPA
His win for the design of Vivace was the third time he had received the World’s Best Interior Design award, making him and his company the first to win three times in any category of the World’s Best at the International Property Awards.
In the months following the gala ceremony at the Savoy in London, he received another five awards, including the Asia Pacific Property Awards for the Best Hotel Conference Facilities Interior and the Best Office Interior for his projects in Hong Kong.
Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award 2022
This year’s assemblage of prizes followed his win of AMIDA, Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award 2022 (presented in 2023).
Alexander is reflective and thankful, “These awards are difficult to get; we don’t win them every day.”
Hong Kong-based designer and architect
Being a locally-based designer and architect has not been easy. Hong Kong is a cramped city, and land is extremely expensive.
Building codes are stringent, and property developers emphasise maximising the gross floor area over imagination and creativity.
Happy & reflective of his experiences
Having faced enormous personal and professional challenges over the past few years, Alexander is grateful to still be in business and is reflective about his experiences.
“There were times when I thought I could not get through. Both my parents passed away, and the business changed dramatically during COVID. I had to come up with a different mindset to surmount these difficulties.”
Achieving these recent awards has been hard-fought. Alexander is elated to be recognised for his designs, but his professional journey was not an overnight success.
For the past two decades, he has had to be flexible and adaptable to capture opportunities when and where he could, while learning to thrive and contribute to the advancement of design in an ever-changing business environment.
Alexander Wong Architects 2001
He has worked very hard since establishing his design firm, Alexander Wong Architects, in 2001.
He worked simultaneously on various entrepreneurial ventures related to clean energy, AI, automation, and vending machines, which led him to set up an animation studio.
The company Jidou Studios created a sports-oriented TV series that culminated in the creation of the World Cup animation for South Africa.
This was while he was also doing architecture and interior design, working for different cinema chains in China and beyond.
“There was a cinema boom in China, and I was very busy for over ten years. We designed about fifty cinemas, and twenty-five of them got built.”
He gained a reputation for designing cinemas that are imbued with a sense of wonder and fantasy.
Alien cinema inspired by Ridley Scott & James Cameron
His bold and fresh approach made his designs highly sought after by clients, who used his credentials and the Alexander Wong brand name to get their foot in the door at big malls.
Using his vivid imagination, he designed the world’s first alien cinema, Cinema Futura, inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Avatar, for a sci-fi-themed 36,800-square-foot cinema in Zhongshan, China, in 2014.
Cinema Futura, Zhongshan, China, by Alexander Wong
During those decades, when he worked on multiple projects and took on enormous challenges and risks, he learned about making trade-offs to build his business and career.
“What I learned during the early years of my work experience is how to find a balance in making personal and professional sacrifices. You can’t do everything. One must try to become not only totally focused and dedicated professionally but also possess an abundance of perseverance and passion.”
“It was crazy hard work; I managed to do all this by not sleeping”, he laughs while reminiscing.
His dedication, perseverance and passion emerged early on, moulded and modelled by his personal history.
While still a student, Alexander’s first professional design job was creating a Chinese Garden pavilion for his family doctor. “I drew it, and it was built. I got paid very little and gave the money to my Mom and Dad.”
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Alexander’s parents recognised his talents and encouraged his creative pursuits from a young age.
Parents encouraged creative pursuits
His father and mother were Hong Kong civil servants working in education and were descendants of distinguished families. His grandfather, on his mother’s side, was the brother-in-law of Dr Sun Yat-sen, the “Father of the Nation” of Modern China.
On his father’s side, his grandmother was a direct descendant of Zhang Juzheng, a famous Senior Grand Secretary (equivalent to Prime Minister) during the Ming dynasty.
Alexander’s father, Wong Chai Lok, was a master calligrapher who began at age 10 and continued practising and promoting Chinese calligraphy for nearly 90 years.Â
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“My Dad wanted me to get into architecture, as I was strong in all the visual arts as well as writing.”
After secondary school at the local St. Paul’s College, he went to the U.K. and attended boarding school at Oundle, which was very strong in the arts.
He pursued architecture and completed his postgraduate degree at Princeton University.
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He worked in New York and on the U.S. West Coast, then returned to Hong Kong and obtained his professional license within 15 months.
Intrigued with the business side of real estate, he worked in project management for nine years. “I wanted to learn everything from the acquisition of land in development, all the way to selling, leasing and renting out the real estate.”
For a while, he worked in marketing and as the business development director for a medium-sized architecture firm. He discovered he could attract clients and develop a special connection with them.
At the dawn of the new Millennium, he thought he wanted to work for himself and become an entrepreneur.
He started his own company, but was not fully confident in branding it under his own name. It took a few years for him to realise that Chinese clients wanted to work with the company’s principal, so his name was the best brand.
Need to train up in business
Going independent under his own brand name was a massive leap for Alexander. He felt he needed to train himself by pursuing an EMBA.
“I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but my education in architecture didn’t prepare me for the business side of things. I heard about the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program as one of the best and felt it was the right match for me.”
The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program was the best match for Alexander Wong
The program’s part-time schedule and live-in weekends at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in Clearwater Bay suited his busy work schedule.
He had to push himself beyond his comfort zone to commence and finish the program.
Loved learning about finance, economics & winning market share
“Some of the classes were quite hard, as these were new areas for me. Yet, I loved learning about finance, economics, branding and the importance of winning market share.”
His classmates included executives who flew in from countries such as China, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. The cohorts’ diverse ethnic backgrounds and corporate cultures gave Alexander invaluable, intimate insights.
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He learned from their perspectives, experiences, vulnerabilities and ways of working.
“That was the most important thing for me, to understand the different aspects of human dynamics and the need to adapt my way of working by adopting the best from different cultures.”
Breakthrough Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program
It has been twenty years since he graduated, but he remembers the key takeaway from the program is simply an intense training for anyone who wishes to excel in their field of expertise.
“I learned about diversity on a global scale and to never stop learning, growing and evolving.”
Alexander has taken those lessons to heart. He works more collaboratively; while managing offices in Hong Kong and China, he now brings in freelancers from a wide network of experts worldwide for select projects as needed.
“It’s best we find the right person to do the right job at the right time. Before, it was like a factory. We had to find work just to keep everyone busy. Now, we can do the best work at a lower cost.”
Bamboo Futura, Chengdu, China, by Alexander Wong
He has expanded to diversify his business by designing different projects throughout Asia, including a fifty-storey landmark tower, the Bamboo Futura in Chengdu, cinemas in the Philippines, supermarkets in Shanghai, Spiral Sky at Regala Skycity Hotel, WM Hotel in Sai Kung,
The Futura, a ground-breaking show home at Mount Regalia in Kau To Shan above Shatin’s Race Course and Maison Belle, an Art Deco-inspired luxury home in Hong Kong.
The Futura show home, Mount Regalia, Hong Kong, by Alexander Wong
Alexander also designs interiors for luxury yachts for clients from around the world and continues to pursue his passion for writing about architecture and design.
One of his new focuses is mentoring young designers and some of his younger clients who are real estate developers and entrepreneurs.
“I want to help them along. I am totally inspired by their energy, and they make me work even harder.”Â
His decades of work and life experiences have given him wisdom and a crisper mindset, enabling him to find his path and navigate life’s peaks and valleys.
Maison Belle, Hong Kong, by Alexander Wong
Having reached new heights in his career, Alexander Wong’s achievements are a testament to his adaptability and perseverance.
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He says, “I think the only way to progress is to be fearless, forge ahead and do your very best.
Even when you fail, you rise up again; you keep going. We are meant to have this journey to live, learn and give something back along the way.”
Text Cammy Yiu / Photo Courtesy of Alexander Wong
